Throw Back Thursday

One of my favourite things about Facebook was 't-b-t' - throw-back-Thursday. It's mostly a t-o-t-p - thing-of-the-past now. But I love old photos and still share t-b-t's now and again. This is the one I shared today:

It is a picture of my brother Ron and me in 1945. I hash-tagged it "big brother and the holding company" as well as "summertime"only because it featured my big brother and me 'holding' a water dipper and it was obviously summer. The Janis Joplin band and song references were just my attempt at being cute. Which obviously I was at circa 18 months, but in regards the 'big brother etc' remark, I meant cute as in a "clever, self-seeking way".

There is much going on in this photo. I am pointing to the fact that I spilled some water - vis-à-vis - obviously the puddle, but also Ron's slightly lifted left foot.

Ron's patched overalls and my too short dress illustrate the need for my parents to "make due with what you have" during the war years. The peeling paint and the boards repairing the bottom of the screen door are also indications of war time scarcities.

I'm quite certain the plant at the bottom of the photo is deadly nightshade. I'm surprised Mom or Dad hadn't pulled it out with two little kids running around the yard. I do remember being told at a very early age how to identify this plant and NEVER eat those little purple berries. But I also remember it still sprouting up in the back yard other times over the years. We were told to pull and discard it when/where ever we found it on the farm.

One thing the picture does not show is a sagging diaper below the hem of my short dress. With another baby due in the fall, I'm sure my mother already had me potty trained. She would not have wanted two little ones in diapers.

The baby sister who usurped my spot on Mom's lap was born on the Autumnal Equinox. She was another tow-head, just like big brother Ron in this photo.

I treasure the black and white photos that illustrate my youth.